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The severed northern section of HS2 is due to be replaced by a cheaper version along the same route, according to the provisional findings of a review privately backed by two English city mayors.
Experts enlisted by leaders in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester concluded that a new line was still needed to fill the “missing” transport link between the two largest urban regions outside the capital.
The existing M6 motorway and west coast rail links would otherwise be unable to cope with demand, they said.
Britain’s proposed high-speed rail line was slashed in October when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak axed the northern section, arguing the £36 billion cost would be better spent on local transport projects.
The decision sparked protests among northern leaders, while parliament’s public accounts committee later concluded that the remaining portion of HS2 from London to Birmingham now offered “very poor value for money” without its northern phase.
In response to the decision, Conservative West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Labor Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham commissioned their own review of possible alternatives which could be partly funded by the private sector.
That review, chaired by former HS2 non-executive chairman Sir David Higgins, provisionally concluded that the best alternative would be a high-speed line along much the same route.
Doing nothing was not an option, he found, due to congestion on the M6 and parallel rail route in the 2030s.
Instead a new rail link would stretch 70 miles from Handsacre, north of Birmingham, to High Legh, near Manchester Airport, along much the same route as the original HS2 proposal but with cheaper specifications.
“Although these are provisional findings, it is clear that a new line between Handsacre and Manchester Airport is the best option for improving connectivity and the most attractive option for significant private sector involvement,” Street said in regarding the review carried out by the companies. including Arup, Arcadis, Mace and EY.
The costs of the alternative line could be covered “through a combination of state and private funding, with reimbursement through access or user fees on the new line”, explain the mayors.
The review is now analyzing potential public-private financing models, such as those used to finance the French TGV high-speed line between Paris and Bordeaux.
The review is expected to be published in full by the end of the year.